The present Gee Lodge at
Camp Billy Gibbons was started in 1958, built and paid for by Otena. It
was designed to be a five-year project and costing $1,000.00. Dabney Kennedy,
who served first on the Medicine Council and then as Lodge Adviser, was
the prime mover and designer of this project.

Donations were accepted from
many people including Arrowmen who paid up their $1.00 dues five years
in advance. Other donations were given by Dr. Nathan Cedars, Stephenville
Hospital, Calvin Barkley, Palace Drug, Brownwood, and James D. King, Brownwood
Superintendent of Schools.

Davis Floral, Manley Webb
and Brownwood School District donated most of the trucks, tractors and
equipment needed to build the lodge. Work weekends over several years were
needed to build the road, pour the concrete foundation, gather rocks, build
the walls, fireplace and set the steel windows.

Their plans were to lay the
foundation before the summer of 1959 was over. By September of 1960 the
rock part of the wall, cement floor and plumbing were completed. They were
now ready to start on the walls and roof. The rock for the walls was gathered
by OA members during their Ordeals.

By April 1962, they still
lacked the windows and fireplace. Raymond Richardson was not an OA member,
but an expert rock mason. He was responsible for building the walls and
the fireplace. ReVe Ponder related that as a little girl she used to go
out to camp with her father Bill Lynn as he worked on the lodge. She remembers
that the weekend they finished the fireplace that it started to snow. It
was so cold that they went ahead and built a fire in the fireplace even
though the cement was not totally dry. The building was finally completed
and the lodge was dedicated during summer camp in 1963.

During the 80's a portion
of the north end of the Lodge was petitioned off and converted into the
First Aid Lodge for the camp when the State Health Department would no
longer allow the camp to use the room at the end of the dining hall for
this purpose. In 2003, a new heath lodge was completed closer to the center
of camp and the former health lodge space was converted to housing for
staff during weekend events and summer camp.

DEDICATION OF LODGE
IN MEMORY OF LOIS GEE

When
Lois Gee passed away on October 11,1977, the building was named in his
memory and is known to this day as "Gee Lodge." The building was
dedicated in his memory on November 4, 1978. James C. Rominger (pictured
at right) of Breckenridge, president of the council, presided at the ceremony.
Mrs. Lois Gee and Mrs. W. L. Gee were among those from Dublin attending
the dedication of the lodge. Improvements to the lodge had been made
with memorial gifts from members of the Dublin Rotary Club and other associates
and friends of Mr. Gee. Lois Gee had served in Scouting in Dublin
for twenty-three years. He was Scoutmaster and Explorer Advisor
most of that time and from 1972 to 1977 served as the Lay Adviser to the
Otena Lodge of the Order of the Arrow. More than 100 Scouts and friends
attended the ceremony at Camp Billy Gibbons.

Left photo:
Eldon Sehnert, center, Comanche Trail Council Scout Executive, represented
the Comanche Trail Council at the dedication ceremonies. Behind him, left
to right, are Neal Pepper, David Cleveland, Pat Leatherwood and Jim Rominger.

Photo below: Members of Explorer
Post 30 placed a plaque on the wall.

Left photo: Mrs.Lois Gee,
left, and Mrs. W. L. Gee of Dublin admire the plaque placed on the building
in memory of the late Lois Gee.

Left photo:
Pat Leatherwood, Dublin, represented the City of Dublin at the Dedication
ceremony.

Right photo: Leon Broughton,
of Dublin, and Scoutmaster of Troop 23, represented the Dublin Rotary Club.
He presented a plaque with the names of all who had contributed to the
Lois Gee Memorial Fund.

David Cleveland, Advisor,
Explorer Post 30 of Dublin,
spoke to the assembled group.